Merry Christmas
by mentaru
Summary: Christmas is the best time for getting away with the Almighty Power of the Mistletoe: a power Amou fervently upholds. So will there actually be a plot... or just lots of mistletoe induced kissing? [Y2k6 UP! KanameItsuki!]
1. Y2k4

MERRY CHRISTMAS Y2k4  


**by** mentaru

**rated** PG13 (because it's meant for those who can understand the perverted-ness behind it)

**disclaimer** I don't own Juvenile Orion. I think that's obvious, though. Gah.

**summary **Um. Pervertedness. Kaname and Itsuki. Christmas. Fluff at end. Humor.

**a/n** This fic randomly came to me, and I thought it was a very amusing idea, and so it is this year's installment of mentaru's Merry Christmas. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

**.: _Merry Christmas_ :.**

"Hey, Kaname," Itsuki said, prodding his best friend in the arm, "aren't those a little old?"

Kaname stared over at Itsuki. "No, I just bought them yesterday. They'll be good for a while, Itsuki."

Itsuki looked at what Kaname held in his hands and gave him a doubtful look. "If you say so. They just look fragile, is all."

"I guess we'll find out when we put them on, then, eh?"

"I guess, but, they're kind of ugly, Kaname."

"Who cares what they look like?"

"I do!"

"Why?"

"I don't know. It's the girly side coming out of me I suppose."

"You're stranger than I thought you were, Itsuki. Caring so much about what something looks like …" Kaname shook his head.

**.: _Merry Christmas_ :.**

"Kaname!" Itsuki whined. "It won't go in!"

"You're not pushing hard enough, then, Itsuki."

"No, I am, the hole's just not – _big enough_!" He grunted, pushing harder.

"Oh, come _on _Itsuki. I know you're not that wimpy. Push harder!"

"But I did, Kaname! It just won't go in!"

"Keep _pushing_ then! We don't have all day!"

Itsuki pushed even harder than before. "It's still not going in, Kaname! I tell you, the hole's not damn big enough!"

"How can the hole not be big enough!"

"How the hell should I know! All I know is that it's – _just_ – _not_ – _going_ – _in_!"

"Fine," Kaname sighed, getting irritated with his friend's failure, "I guess we'll just come back to this, then. Come on, we've got other things to do."

**.: _Merry Christmas_ :.**

"Ooh, Kaname, can I lick it? Please?"

"No."

"But why not?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I said so."

"Well, can I at least touch it, then?"

"Why?"

"Coz I wanna see how the gooey-ness feels."

"Haven't you felt 'the gooey-ness' before?"

"No. I wasn't this privileged before I met you."

Kaname proceeded to roll his eyes at the one who he called his best friend.

**.: _Merry Christmas_ :.**

"Where did you say you wanted this, Kaname?"

"Are you really that stupid?"

"Yes."

"Up."

"You don't have to be Mr. Vague."

"I shouldn't have had to tell you. How many times have we done this?"

"Only twice. Jeez."

"It should have been obvious, though."

"Yeah, well, I'm inexperienced with these things."

"But if we've done this twice, you should know what to do."

"I'm very forgetful, okay?"

"Obviously. But, really Itsuki, it's so obvious …!"

Itsuki grumbled. "Oh, shut up."

**.: _Merry Christmas_ :.**

Seven o'clock. They were done. Kaname and Itsuki had successfully managed to put lights up around the house, decorate the tree, make gingerbread cookies, and hang mistletoe from the ceiling. Now all they needed were guests.

"Kusakabe-kun! Itsuki-kun!" Amou called out to his two friends thirty minutes later, the house now bustling with other guests. "Great party! Thanks for inviting me!"

The two best friends came over to Amou, both glad he made it. "No problem, Amou," Kaname said. "Glad you made it."

Itsuki swung his arm around Kaname's shoulder, much to Kaname's mock dislike. "Took us forever, but we finally got it done. We had fun, didn't we Kaname?"

Kaname gave Itsuki an annoyed 'get-your-arm-off-me' kind of look. Amou giggled at Itsuki's flamboyant flirting and Kaname's bad job at hiding that he liked it.

"Great fun, Itsuki, great fun," Kaname said sarcastically.

"I'm glad you two got to spend even more time with each other than normal," Amou said cheerfully, absentmindedly looking up and around. "Look!" he said, pointing up at the ceiling. "Mistletoe!" And to Kaname and Itsuki's great surprise, they were standing (conveniently) right under the mistletoe.

"Come on you two!" Amou chirped. "Kiss! It's the rule of the mistletoe!"

Itsuki removed his arm from Kaname's shoulder. "Well, buddy, we can't deny the almighty power of the mistletoe. Ki –"

Kaname, however, cut his friend off in the middle of what he was saying, kissing Itsuki firm on the lips.

Amou squealed like a overjoyed yaoi fangirl.

Kaname pulled away and looked at a very shocked-looking Itsuki.

"Hot damn, Kaname," Itsuki breathed. "Warn me before you go and kiss me like that!"

Kaname shrugged, and Amou just then heard his name being called, so he departed, leaving Kaname and Itsuki still standing under the mistletoe.

"Itsuki, you really need to stop smoking. Or I'm never kissing you again."

Itsuki frowned at Kaname, crossing his arms. "Oh shut up, Kaname."

"Either that," Kaname continued, "or get some breath spray. I hear that they sell some quite nice mint flavored ones …"

"Would you shut up already!"

Kaname smirked. "No."

"Ugh! Why am I attracted to you again?"

Kaname shrugged. "Maybe because I can do this –" And Itsuki, yet again, was surprised at how astonishingly well Kaname could kiss.

Kaname pulled away. "Satisfied?"

Itsuki nodded. "Hell yeah. I'll get to breaking that habit right away …." And, with that, Itsuki pulled out a box of cigarettes he had had in his jeans pocket and threw it in the trash that was conveniently placed near them.

"And, that, Kaname, shall be my Christmas present to you: quitting smoking. Merry Christmas, Kana-chan!"

"Itsuki, don't call me that."

"Why not? It's cute!"

"It's stupid."

"So? I'm stupid."

"This is true …"

"Hey! You're not supposed to agree with me!"

"But it's true, Itsuki."

Itsuki stuck his tongue out at Kaname in frustration. Kaname laughed and kissed Itsuki again, knowing it would probably "make him feel all better."

"Merry Christmas, Itsuki."

**O W A R I**

**a/n** Well, how was it? Was it funny? Stupid? Please review and tell me! Thanks, and I hope to be getting some chapters up for my other fics soon. Hope you had fun reading! (And don't miss out on next year's installment!)


	2. Y2k5

MERRY CHRISTMAS Y2k5

**by **mentaru

**rated** T (PG13) for language, and just to be safe

**disclaimer **I dun own JO. Do I _look_ like—well, you can't even see me, so there's my point exactly. XP

**a/n** Holy crap, I wrote this entire thing in a day. (Though, if you count editing, it took two.) I am truly amazed at how long it is. Please don't let the length keep you from reading, though. But I do have one thing to say about the pairing in this installment, because I'm not really sure what concrete pairing it is. When I started writing, it was IsshinItsuki, but then things gradually started forming in my brain, and it started connecting to Y2k4's story, and I thought to myself, "Oh my God, I've created a _real_ 'fanfic'! -Psycho scream-" It really wasn't supposed to turn out that way. -nervous laugh- But it did. So just keep in mind that it's _technically_ supposed to be IsshinItsuki, but there's sort of a love triangle going on, and no one is really "together" if you know what I mean.

**.: _Merry Christmas_ :.**

"Seeeen-pa-iiiii!" came the obnoxious high-pitched call of the would-one-day-be extinct species known as Itsuki Naoya, ringing louder in the older boy's ears as the waves bounced off of the walls of the narrow high-school hall. The annoyingly cute face of said Itsuki Naoya was clear to Isshin, and no matter how hard he tried to evade thinking about it, he just couldn't seem to—Itsuki, obviously, was just that annoying sometimes, that you couldn't seem to get him out of your mind.

"Oh dear God ... here it comes ..." he muttered to himself; and just as he expected, a mere second or two later, the younger boy had flung himself onto Isshin's back, arms wrapped around his neck and legs around his waist. Isshin stumbled slightly, but was actually rather used to Itsuki's monkey-like actions by this time. "What do you _want_ Itsuki?" he demanded, the question really meaning something like, "Why must you continue to jump on me, will you please _get off_?" The strain Itsuki was having from holding on was almost choking Isshin now, and the older boy had to pry the younger boy's arms from his neck—though for some reason, he didn't let go of the dirty-blonde's wrists.

"Weeeell, senpai, you _see_... Kaname and I are throwing a party again this year—"

"Please tell me it won't be anything like last year's ..." Isshin interjected, shuddering, afraid to think of the incidents that occurred at last year's party.

"No no no," Itsuki explained. "Nothing at all like last year's. Mana won't even be coming, she's visiting family out of town—and then Haruna and Kaori (-1-) decided to meet her there and go on a hot springs trip (they even got Kaoru to go). But, anyway, Kaname just wanted me to invite you ... to the party, obviously."

Isshin seemed perplexed by this statement. "Itsuki, we have basketball practice together, he could have just told me then." Itsuki made a slight move and began slipping from Isshin's grip.

"Ack ... well, yeah, there's that ... but—ahh ...!" Isshin lost his grip (probably on purpose) and Itsuki fell off of Isshin and onto the floor. "Oww ..." Isshin turned around to stare down at his kouhai, only to be caught by a fit of laughter at the look on Itsuki's face.

"I should have dropped you earlier, had I known I'd get this priceless look."

"Aw, shut up, you're acting like Kaname now." He looked up at the older boy, giving his best 'stop acting like Kaname' pout, and tried to suppress a blush creeping to his cheeks. This, however, only made Isshin laugh more.

"Oh, look at that, little Itsuki-kouhai is blushing," he snickered.

"I am not!" the younger boy argued, pouting again, crossing his arms.

Isshin rolled his eyes but diverted them to other things almost nervously. "Well, then stop acting like you're five. It isn't becoming of you." Itsuki stared up at Isshin and was going to say something, but instead let an awkward silence fall between them.

Isshin finally broke the silence, though, and held out his hand to Itsuki. "Here, come on, you can't sit there all day." Itsuki took the proffered hand and was pulled to his feet.

His eyes immediately fell to the ground. "Thanks ... I guess." He grinned and looked back up. "Seeing as you _were _the one to drop me in the first place." He gave a mock-accusative look to the older boy.

Isshin grinned unconsciously ruffled Itsuki's hair. "It's only coz I love you," he said, but then began walking off in the direction he had before Itsuki jumped on him, waving curtly to Itsuki with one hand. "I'll see you at the party, Itsuki. Tell Kusakabe that he better not try to kill me this time." And then he was gone.

Itsuki stared after the older boy in shock. What the hell had just happened? He moved his fingers through his hair; he could tell where Isshin had ruffled his hair, and it gave him the chills. And just thinking about what the older boy had said to him made his brain hurt.

"_It's only coz I love you."_

"If only you knew ..."

**.: _Merry Christmas_ :.**

"Kaname!" Itsuki whined, almost desperately, clinging to the sleeve of Kaname's shirt. "Where is he? He said he would be here ..." Kaname rolled his eyes and tried to pry Itsuki's fingers from his clothing.

"He's late, Itsuki. Haven't you ever heard of that? Stop freaking out. He'll be here." With no luck of prying Itsuki's fingers by his own brute strength, he added, "And please dislodge your fingers from my shirt, would you?"

Itsuki looked down at Kaname's sleeve and blushed. "Oh, sorry, nervous ..." He slowly let go, much to Kaname's relief.

"Now come on, we probably shouldn't have left Nakaura-sensei and Amou in there by themselves for so long." Itsuki snorted and followed Kaname back into the living room. Upon arrival, Kaname rolled his eyes, and Itsuki only snorted again, and promptly cleared his throat at Tomonori and Amou.

The priest and Eraser quickly pulled away from each other, both blushing, Amou more than the red lights on the Christmas tree. Immediately, Amou piped up with an excuse for their behavior, and Tomonori made his way over to the couch and began shakily flipping through his Bible, muttering things under his breath.

"Mistletoe," the Eraser said, laughing nervously, pointing up. And, sure enough, there was the leafy green plant hanging right above him. "Can't deny the Almighty Power of the Mistletoe ... now can you?"

"Of course not, seeing as you made me lip-lock with Itsuki last year," Kaname reminisced, almost mockingly.

"Hey now!" Itsuki defended. "It wasn't _that_ bad ... was it?" Big puppy-dog eyes and an irresistibly cute look graced Itsuki's face. Amou laughed and Kaname sighed.

"You do that every time the subject comes up, Itsuki. But I _suppose_ it wasn't _that_ bad." He smirked, and Amou grinned at his two friends. But even though the two were acting as they would normally, something just didn't seem right between the two of them ... Ah well, it was probably nothing.

**.: _Merry Christmas_ :.**

Kaname, Itsuki, Amou, and Tomonori all waited from the respective seats for the guest who had yet to make his appearance. Kaname was bored, Tomonori was content reading his Bible, Amou was spacing off, and Itsuki was fidgety. He couldn't seem to keep still for more than five seconds.

"Would you calm down already, Itsuki?" Kaname demanded more than asked; that was Kaname for you.

"Sorry, sorry," Itsuki apologized. "I just get restless when I have to wait too long."

Kaname gave him a sideways glance. "Obviously ..."

Just then, they heard a knock on the door. Itsuki sprang out of his chair and flung it open, glomping whoever had been standing behind it, not wanting to let go.

"E—excuse me ..." the pizza-delivery boy said, rather uncomfortable with having this stranger clinging to his body. "I uh ... I think I might have the wrong ... number ...?" Itsuki, having heard that this was not the voice of Isshin, immediately let go of the delivery boy and bowed deeply.

"Sorry, sorry! Please forgive me for my rudeness." Kaname came up behind Itsuki and pulled him out of the way. Amou glanced over, curious as to what was going on.

"Sorry about him," Kaname informed the delivery boy. "Um, I think it may be the next flat over, we didn't order pizza." He gave the boy an apologetic grin.

"R-right, yeah, thanks." And with that, the boy was gone as the door slammed shut.

"You moron," Kaname said. "Itsuki, I swear you get stupider with every passing year ..." Itsuki sighed and slumped back into his padded chair. Kaname shook his head and sauntered into the kitchen to call Isshin's cell, so he could figure out where the hell the older boy was; Amou, though, couldn't help but think to himself again that there was something strange going on between the Darklore and the older E.G.O.

**.: _Merry Christmas_ :.**

A high-pitched little melody rang through the Shiba household, and before his mother, or even his fiancé could get to it, Isshin snatched his cell phone from the table where he had left it accidentally. "_Moshi-moshi_, Shiba speaking."

"Where the hell are you!" came the heated reply of who he assumed was Kaname.

"Kusakabe! Whoa, calm down! I'm, uh ... having some ... _problems_ ... at home ..."

"Well, we're having some problems over here, seeing as Itsuki's driving me insane—he just pounced on a delivery boy, thinking it was you. So get your ass over here!"

"You don't think I've been trying for the past three hours? My arranged 'fiancé' popped in for an unexpected—ACK!"

"Shiba! Shiba!"

_"Who are you talking to, love? We need to plan our wedding! You will be mine soon, Isshin-sama!"_

"What the—? Dammit, dial tone ..." He held back the urge to slam the phone back into its holder before he casually, calmly walked back into the living room. "Well, apparently, he's been caught up by some things, and he hopes to get away soon," he informed everyone. "So, for the mean time, let's play a game or something ... Any ideas?"

Tomonori and Amou shook their heads, but Itsuki piped up. "Ooh! Spin-the-bottle truth-or-dare!"

"That is so cliché, Itsuki. Any _other_ suggestions?"

Silence.

Kaname sighed. "Fine. I'll go get the bottle."

**.: _Merry Christmas_ :.**

The bottle spun and spun and spun—"Itsuki, why the hell did you spin it so damn fast?"

A loud knock.

Before Kaname could hold Itsuki down, he sprang from the floor and flung open the door again, this time making sure of whom he was about to glomp. And, sure enough, there stood Isshin—

"Finally!" Itsuki exclaimed and pounced on Isshin, squeezing all the living out of the older boy. "You finally decided to show your ass here, Isshin-senpai!" The older boy's eye twitched and he peeled Itsuki off of him, shoving him inside enough so he could close the door behind him.

"Itsuki, for the _millionth_ time, stop calling me 'Isshin'! It's 'Yi-Xin'! _Yi-Xin! _(-2-)" Amou couldn't help but giggle at Isshin's temper about being called "Isshin." Though the older boy _had_ calmed down a lot since he first met Itsuki, probably because of their Mindbreaker, Mana ...

The bottle was still spinning by the time Itsuki and Isshin sat down in the circle, and was still spinning even after everyone else had welcomed Isshin and the older boy had apologized for his extremely late arrival.

"Damn, I guess I did spin it too fast ..." But, as if on cue, the bottle promptly slowed and seconds later stopped, pointing directly at Isshin.

"What the—hey! I'm not in this game!" he protested, staring down at the bottle skeptically.

"Well, pucker up, Itsuki, looks like you've got to lip-lock with Shiba now," Kaname informed his best friend mockingly. Tomonori looked up from his Bible and sighed, shaking his head momentarily before immersing himself back into the leather-bound book.

"What! Nuh-uh, this spin was a truth-or-dare!"

Amou giggled and informed him otherwise. "No, Itsuki, every other spin is just regular spin-the-bottle." He glanced over at Isshin, who looked as red as his hair. "Sorry, Shiba-senpai, but Itsuki has to do it, those are the rules of the game," he said apologetically, albeit a little amused.

Itsuki sighed heavily, and Isshin knew it would be futile to protest. "Fine. Fine, I'll do it." Amou grinned—he always liked these kinds of things for some reason; like last year, when Kaname had been forced (by Amou, of course) to kiss Itsuki because of the Almighty Power of the Mistletoe, the Eraser couldn't help but squeal; he'd try to suppress his emotions this time—no promises, though.

Itsuki got on all-fours and crawled over to Isshin, whose arms were crossed and whose eyes were diverted to the nearest wall, and looked into the reddish-orange eyes of his resentful senpai. When Isshin's eyes glanced to meet Itsuki's, the thought crossed the older boy's mind that Itsuki looked uncannily like a curious puppy, and he tried not to snort. "Well, get on with it then," he said, adding mockingly, "or will I have to help you?" with a smirk.

Itsuki growled like the mocked puppy that he was at the moment, but closed his eyes, pressing his lips to Isshin's—and much to the older boy's surprise, Itsuki was actually quite good; Kaname must have taught him a thing or two. And as much as Amou tried, he just couldn't keep in the raging squeal of delight bubbling inside him—and, so, he squealed yet again like an overjoyed yaoi-fangirl ("Waii!") and sneaked a camera out of his backpack that no one had bothered to question; Kaname couldn't help but laugh at the look on Isshin's face: it was a combination between surprise, resentment, and embarrassment—and it was even funnier when Amou snapped a shot of the Arayashiki and E.G.O. Though, the Darklore couldn't stop the wave of sorrow and loss that came over him, but it quickly passed when Itsuki finally pulled away from Isshin, leaving the older boy almost completely at a loss for words.

"Holy ... crap ..." he breathed, and seemed to forget that Amou had just taken a picture of what had just happened.

"AMOU!" Itsuki chided, falling back onto his butt to face Amou, a look that said, 'Why in the Five Factions did you take a _picture_ of that!' written all over his face. "You better not put that in any scrapbook," he warned playfully. After all, what could he do if the Eraser did?

Amou grinned triumphantly, putting his camera away, and Kaname laughed at the thought of seeing that photograph in one of Amou's yearly scrapbooks.

"Oh, but you two are just so cute!" Amou proclaimed.

"You said that about me and Kaname," Itsuki reminded him, giving Amou a mock-accusing look. "Make up your mind, Amou, honestly." He grinned, having fun teasing his Eraser friend.

"Well, I'm just saying," the blonde said. "Besides, you and Kaname—"

"Hey, uh, let's change the subject, huh?" Kaname interjected. And, at just that moment, with their game forgotten, Amou knew for a fact that Kaname and Itsuki had broken up without telling anyone. The only thing Amou needed to know now was why.

**.: _Merry Christmas_ :.**

"Presents!" Itsuki exclaimed, nuzzling a box that had his name on it. "Oh, I love you, presents!"

They had all forced Tomonori into wearing a Santa-hat so he could pass out presents properly, and the young teacher had done it resentfully. "Oh, but Tomonori-san, it looks good on you, really!" Amou chirped, grinning widely. But even after Amou's compliment, the raven-haired man still resented wearing the stupid hat.

After all the presents had been passed out by Tomonori-Claus, the five of them proceeded to take turns opening their gifts. They let Tomonori go first, as he had to suffer wearing the jolly Santa-hat.

"... Chalk," he finally said, staring down at the six-pack of two-and-a-half-inch white chalk. Itsuki grinned widely and laughed in spite of himself.

"Yeah, sensei, for all the times you've had to throw chalk at me in class so I would pay attention—I figured you could use some more." Tomonori laughed (mostly at Itsuki) and everyone else merely laughed at the gift; it was so Itsuki-esque.

"Well, thank you, Itsuki," Tomonori said with a small chuckle.

Isshin went next, only because he was their senpai, and since they hardly gave him enough respect any other time of the year, they tried to make up for it at Christmas. He picked up a fat square package that was also from Itsuki. "Well, it looks like Itsuki's presents have just as big an ego as the one-and-only," he joked, and Itsuki grinned sheepishly. "And isn't it just ironic that's he's in _E.G.O._, too ..." Amou giggled and Kaname outright laughed; and even Tomonori couldn't manage to stifle a chuckle.

Itsuki, however, wasn't very amused, and merely stuck his tongue out at Isshin.

_Oh God, oh God ... I hope he likes it ... I really, _really_ hope he likes it ... I worked so hard, put in so much effort ... _His thoughts were halted by Isshin tearing all the wrapping paper off to find a light brown and gold scrapbook with the characters for "Kirihara Mana" on the cover.

Isshin stared down at it silently, and everyone was staring at Isshin, waiting for him to open it. Slowly, the Arayashiki flipped through the pages, each one of them full of Mana's bright smiles and warm light.

Suddenly, Isshin slammed the scrapbook shut, not being able to take it anymore, and thrust it out in front of him, holding it out to Itsuki, his head down, looking at his lap. "I ..." he started, hesitating, "I ... cannot accept this."

Itsuki, and everyone but Tomonori, stared in shock (the priest was more intrigued than shocked) at the proffered gift he had worked so hard to make, and it seemed as if Kaname, Amou, and Tomonori were all invisible—ghosts, figments of his imagination—to him. He pushed down tears that wanted to well up in his eyes. "... Why ...?" he asked softly, his eyes diverting from Isshin to the scrapbook and back to Isshin again. "Why ...?" he repeated when the older boy said nothing, merely continued to hold out the gift.

"Please ..." Isshin finally said. "Please, I cannot accept this. I just ... can't ..." His eyes remained on anything but Itsuki as the younger boy resentfully, hurt, took back the gift that had taken his whole heart to give. He stood up swiftly and turned to the door behind him. "Excuse me ..." And he walked out of the apartment.

Kaname, Amou, and Tomonori were real again to the hurt and confused E.G.O. He felt a warm presence around him as Amou gave him a hug that he really needed at a time like this. _He ... he hated it_, he thought to himself. _He hated it, and now he probably hates me for trying to give it to him ... But—_

"Itsuki ..." Amou started, interrupting Itsuki's thoughts. "Itsuki, I think I know why you're so hurt."

**.: _Merry Christmas_ :.**

After the little incident with Isshin, Kaname had excused himself from the room and locked himself in his bedroom. He knew _exactly_ why Itsuki was so hurt, no questions asked. And part of it was his fault.

He sighed heavily, regretting all that he had done to his best friend, and let his head fall into the palms of his hands. "Oh God, Itsuki," he whispered to himself, "what have I done to you? And for such a stupid reason ... I'm so sorry ..."

**.: _Merry Christmas _:.**

Isshin slid down the wall of the hall, sighing. What the hell had he just done back there? Not accepting a gift that probably took Itsuki's greatest effort to make and to give—and he had just blatantly unaccepted it. _God, I can be such a bastard sometimes ..._

"Oh God, what have I done ...? What in the name of Arayashiki have I done ...?" Just then, he heard the apartment door open, and he looked up to see Tomonori coming out into the hall. "Nakaura-san ...?"

Tomonori walked to the other side of the hall and sat down facing Isshin. "You probably need someone to talk to, am I right? I can see it in your eyes. And I am a priest after all, so I think you can trust me."

Isshin stared. He guessed it would do him good to talk about it. He sighed and hung his head, embarrassed at how he had acted toward Itsuki earlier. "I ... I'm not in love with Kirihara-san anymore," he finally said.

"I could have told you that, by the way you reacted to that scrapbook," Tomonori replied calmly, solemnly. "So the question that needs explaining is 'why?', isn't it?"

Isshin nodded slowly and began, "On her birthday, I finally got the courage to do what I'd been wanting to do for a very long time ... So, when finally the time was right, I did it. I asked her how she felt about me, and I confessed sincerely my feelings for her, I even asked her if she might like to go out sometime—like, to dinner or to a movie. Maybe I was stupid, bombarding her with all these things at one time, on her birthday, no less ... But I really hadn't expected the rejection she gave me. 'Shiba ... we're just ... friends,' she said to me, trying to be as humble as possible; but it wasn't that that really broke my heart—no, it's what she told me next:

" 'And ... well, you're the first person I've told, but ... I think ... I think I'm in love with Kaoru; I ... I'm sorry, Shiba; it just wouldn't work, the two of us ...' And she bowed politely, almost mocking me it seemed, and walked away. I stood there, staring after her, in complete and total shock. But I couldn't let myself cry—no, instead, I exerted my emotions by practicing, training, and let my broken heart cry inside of me."

Tomonori stared at Isshin's hung head, and could tell the Arayashiki wanted to cry but was restraining his tears. A blanket of sorrow draped over them, and silence engulfed the entire hallway. Tomonori tried to find the words that could console the red-haired boy.

"Shiba ..." he finally said, and for the first time since they began talking, Isshin raised his head. "Your heart is broken, this I know ... And a broken heart is a hard thing to mend—in fact, I'm not even quite sure if anything in the world can completely restore a broken heart; but you and I both know that there are many things that can help mend such painful things." Eyes met eyes, and an understanding passed between the two eldest members of the five-member alliance.

Tomonori nodded. "Itsuki likes you, I can tell, and so can you." He stood up slowly, and Isshin's eyes followed his every move as the priest made his way back to the apartment door.

"But ... he's with Kaname ... right?" he asked, perplexed.

As Tomonori placed his hand on the knob, he smirked and flashed Isshin a devious grin. "Then make it a threesome," he stated bluntly, with no sarcasm of any kind laced in his voice, and disappeared back into the apartment.

Isshin stared in shock, his jaw unconsciously dropping an inch or two. _Oh my God ... he was being serious! When did Nakaura-san become so ... **dirty**?_

**.: _Merry Christmas_ :.**

"It was a stupid reason," Itsuki explained, just as Tomonori made his way back into the apartment—not that the two boys really paid any mind. "But it was a reason nonetheless ... Ever since I started smoking, Kaname had always stopped me when he caught me. Stole my cigarettes and threw them away, even. And no matter how many times he told me to stop, I couldn't. You don't know how addictive it is until you start doing it." Amou waited for Itsuki to continue.

"So, last year, at Christmas, when Kaname and I were officially 'together' for the first time, he told me to stop or he'd never kiss me again—and like hell did I want that to happen, so I quit cold-turkey.

"Of course, that didn't last very long. My entire body craved the cigarettes, craved the nicotine. It still does. And that's the reason—he couldn't stand being with someone who smokes. 'You'll kill me and yourself if you keep it up, Itsuki!' he told me. 'You're _already_ killing yourself, and knowing that is killing me.' Maybe we're both cowards, running away from something that we know could have lasted forever, but we both agreed that it's only for the best ..."

"So ..." Amou started. "How did Shiba-senpai come into all of this?" he asked, almost sounding like a psychiatrist. Tomonori was back to reading his Bible, so the two boys were practically in a private room.

"Oh, well ... I've always liked senpai, albeit he is a bit scary sometimes, and I've always liked Kaname a lot more"—he laughed sheepishly, knowing now how obvious he had been in the past about exerting his feelings toward Kaname—"but ... I don't know ... there's just something about Isshin-senpai that I can take solace in. I don't even know what it is, but it's there, I can feel it ..."

"Itsuki, I'm so sorry, please for give me," the Eraser and E.G.O. heard just then, two different voices saying the exact same thing—Kaname and Isshin had decided to make their presences known again, apparently in unison. Itsuki glanced up at both of them, seeing the Darklore and Arayashiki both bowing respectively, waiting for his response; but, he didn't really knowing what to say _or_ do.

"I ..." he started, trying to choose the right words. "I forgive you both; neither of you needs to explain, really. I'll know when the time is right, right? So, right now I—I just want to open the rest of these damn presents already! The suspense is killing me!"

And everyone else in the room could tell that they were all thinking the same thing: _That's Itsuki for you ..._

**.: _Merry Christmas_ :.**

"Well, I think this has been a _very_ eventful Christmas, hasn't it?" Amou said as he gathered his things to head out with Tomonori back home.

"Like always," Itsuki replied, grinning. "And I suppose we'll be seeing you two on New Year's Day?"

Amou nodded. "Wouldn't miss one of your parties for the world, Itsuki." Kaname and Isshin now gathered near Itsuki to bid Amou and Tomonori off.

"Till New Year's!" they said for the second time in unison. They glanced at each other, both a little weirded out, but then shrugged it off.

As Amou was heading out the door behind Tomonori, he almost nearly forgot he had one last thing to tell the three remaining boys. "Oh! I almost forgot!" he exclaimed and pointed up to the ceiling at the leafy green plant hanging from it. "Mistletoe! Now you _all_ have to kiss each other!" he giggled.

All three boys facefell. The prospect of this wasn't looking good, but they knew that if they didn't do it, Amou's wrath would be over all of their heads. So, they figured that if Kaname kissed Itsuki and Itsuki kissed Isshin and Isshin kissed Kaname, they would all be saved.

Amou stood in the doorframe, waiting. (Tomonori had stopped at the stairwell, knowing perfectly well what Amou was up to.) "Hurry up you three!"

Kaname sighed. He'd go first. After all, he'd done the same exact thing last year, and Amou had been the one to point it out then, too. "Well, come here Itsuki. I know you're just dying for another lip-lock." And, with that, Kaname, unconsciously pulled Itsuki toward him by the waist and pressed his lips to those familiar, soft, gentle Itsuki Naoya lips.

Itsuki went along with it. It actually felt quite good to have Kaname so close in proximity again, even though he knew in a few seconds it would all be over. Not bothering to return the kiss, he pulled away, as much as he hated to, but stared into Kaname's dark eyes. Amou's high-pitched yaoi-fangirl squeals were actually getting quite obnoxious and it would just be better off to get everything else over so the yaoi-fangirl-at-heart would be satisfied.

Kaname, surprised that Itsuki pulled away without even the slightest hesitant move to return the kiss, almost dropped the older boy, but Isshin saved the male E.G.O. from almost having become friends with the floor.

"Guess it's your turn, then, Itsuki. Hope Kaname didn't ware out those nice lips of yours," he said sarcastically, smirking. Itsuki blushed a light shade of red, and Isshin noticed that it was almost the shade of his own eyes—

Itsuki's lips met Isshin's for the second time that night and said eyes widened in surprise. And it was almost ironic that Amou had initiated both kisses ... But the Eraser's "squee"s and "waii"s were certainly getting louder and more high-pitched with this new kiss.

This time it was Isshin who pulled away, for he was the most affected by Amou's obnoxious behavior this round, but his lips made a slight detour to Itsuki's ear to whisper, a whisper so soft it gave Itsuki the chills, "_Suki dayo _... Naoya."

Itsuki's face burned bright red as Isshin let go of him, and he picked up on the Arayashiki's thoughts—_Merry Christmas, Itsuki._ He hardly ever used his telepathy except for talking with Haruna, so the fact that he picked up on this made him feel extremely warm and fuzzy inside. But before he could say anything back—

"Alright Shiba-senpai, it's your turn!" the energetic Eraser piped. "Oh, Kaname, I almost feel sorry for you," he giggled. "But, then again, maybe I should feel sorry for Shiba-senpai more ..."

"Hey!" Kaname defended. "What's that supposed to mean?" But before he could get an answer (though he knew he never would, knowing Amou), he felt Isshin's lips against his—and had the sensation not felt as good as it had, oddly enough, Kaname would have pulled away instantly.

Amou bounced and giggled and squealed, but poor Itsuki standing next to them was perplexed beyond anything any high Japanese game-designer could make up as to how Kaname was reacting. Amou, seeing this as a perfect opportunity for a picture, whipped out his camera again and snapped a few shots of Isshin and Kaname. At the second flash, however, Kaname promptly pulled away, so surprised with everything that had just happened that he looked dazed and confused, as if he wasn't quite sure if any of this _had_ just happened.

"Well, I'll be seeing you guys at New Year's! MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Amou called, giggling madly, waving to his friends, and sprinting to meet Tomonori at the stairwell. Itsuki closed the apartment door and leaned against it, still in shock about what had just happened, and Kaname and Isshin were now standing as far apart as they possibly could.

"Yeah ..." they all breathed in unison. "Merry Christmas indeed."

**O W A R I  
****(although not really, coz there's still next year)**

(-1-) This is Kaname's older sister. She isn't ever called anything but "Nee-san" in the manga, so a friend and I took it upon ourselves to name her. And we picked Kaori. Of course, we didn't think about Kaoru the Mindbreaker when we thought up the name, but I still like it, and I think it's fitting.

(-2-) Since "Isshin" isn't really his given name, his mother obviously calls him by his real name. In the third manga, I believe, she calls him "Yi-Xin" but in the last volume, she calls him "Xi-Shin." I thought that was odd, the fact that it changed, so I just picked the one that sounded the coolest, and the one that Isshin would probably get more upset about when mispronounced. "Xi-Shin" seems too close to "Isshin" for him to get pissed off, so I went with "Yi-Xin."

**TRANSLATIONS**  
.:_Moshi-moshi_—how the Japanese usually answer the phone, meaning "hello."  
.:_Suki dayo_—translated to mean "I love you," and is used in the male speech instead of actually saying "I love you" (which is _aishiteru_), as the Japanese aren't quite that outright as us Americans. 

**a/n **So, holy crap, I didn't expect to write thirteen effing pages. But I myself am amazed. I can tell you right now, none of the above was planned. It was all on a whim. I just started writing, and that's what happened. Sorry Tomonori didn't really have much of a part, though... heh. But, just to amaze myself some more, let's look at my word count (we all know it's waaay over the 2000+ minimum)—5,095 effing words! Damn, that's good for me. It's a new record for mentaru. XD Well, now that I feel so good about myself, pleeeeaase review! I want to know how this compared to last year's (even though I already know nothing will ever be as good). If you think this year's sucked ass compared to last year's, TELL ME! Don't be afraid! Thankies mucho! And please stay tuned for next year's installment!


	3. Y2k6

MERRY CHRISTMAS Y2k6

**by** mentaru

**rated **PG13

**disclaimer **Still don't own JO.

**a/n **Yes, it's that time of year again! I'm excited, and you should be too! Now, before I continue, I'd just like to thank the... let's see... **_THREE_** reviewers for MC-Y2k5 (who would be the lovely **Kyone**, **Mistress of Azure**, and an anonymous reviewer of no intelligible name). Was it just crap or something? Coz even if it was, I would have still liked to have heard it in a review. _But_, in any case, here I am again with another MC for your enjoyment. No angst this time. At least, I hope not. This time should be back to random funny crap, though with a slightly more serious undertone. But I have also decided to actually connect all the storylines together in an actual fanfic sort of way (not just a compilation of one-shots that have nothing to do with each other). So from now on, they WILL all connect to the previous. Also, just in case people are a little weirded out by the GL this time around (though there hardly is any), I've got even more KanameItsuki for you as well—ie, this chapter focuses on Kaname and Itsuki and the GL is only minor. So just bear with me? Oh, but one more thing before I shut up—I'd like to point out ages, in case anyone cares or is confused or whatever. In Y2k4, they were manga age, and from there, each following update will be a year later, see? So this year Itsuki's around 19 and Kaname around 18 and so on and so forth for the others. Yay. NOW, _please review_, even if you hate it. Happy reading!

**.: _Merry Christmas!_ :.**

"K-Kaori!"

"...What?"

"...Stop. They don't know yet."

"So? That's the point, right? It'll be a surprise."

"Ahh... yes, but still...They're our brothers..."

"Exactly. They of all people should understand. But don't worry. They would've figured it out eventually anyway."

**.: _Merry Christmas!_ :.**

"Kaname!"

"What?"

"How can you just _accept _this? They're our _sisters_!"

"And? We can't control their lives."

"Yeah... but still..."

"Good grief, it's not like the world is going to end just because of this. Let them do what they want."

"Oh fine..."

**.: _Merry Christmas! _:.**

"Ne, Kaname-chan, are you sure you and Itsuki are fine with Haruna and I throwing the Christmas party this year? I mean, it was kinda your thing..."

"It's fine."

"Oookaaay. Whatever you say, little brother." She grinned and linked arms with him. "Buuut, are you gonna to get back together with Itsuki this Christmas?" she questioned cheerfully, tugging Kaname down the snow-covered street and poking him in the side with her elbow. "You've been more cheerful since he broke up with Isshin-kun. That, and you've been washing your bedsheets in the middle of the night more often." She snickered, and Kaname tugged away from her, crossing his arms, trying to hide his furiously red face.

"_Nee-san_!" he scolded, extremely embarrassed that she knew about his frequent laundry trips at two in the morning. "I-It didn't work before, it's not going to work now."

"Oh, come now," she told him, chuckling while ruffling his hair. "It only didn't work because you're such a hardass about his smoking."

Kaname looked insulted. "What?" he asked incredulously. "I just don't want him to kill himself with that crap! Just because I actually _care_ about his health makes me a hardass? ...What?" He frowned at Kaori's attempts to hold back her laughter.

"Oh, it's just your face," she giggled. "You're adorable when you blush." Kaname, indignant, diverted his eyes to the street, trying to ignore his beet-red face.

"L-Let's just get the decorations and go home, okay?"

Kaori grinned. "Sure thing little brother."

**.: _Merry Christmas! _:.**

"Finally! Christmas is here!" Itsuki squealed, squeezing Kaname at the same time. "I'm so excited!"

"Yes, I can tell," Kaname replied dryly. "Now please... let go of me, Itsuki. You're squeezing really hard..." And_ making me hard..._ he thought, trying his hardest to ignore his raging hormones—

"Oh!" Itsuki jumped away from his best friend, laughing nervously. "Sorry. Got carried away." Kaname rolled his eyes and suppressed a grin that was desperately wanting to show itself.

"Let's just go to my room while nee-san and Haruna-san finish decorating"—of course, that statement was definitely _not_ his hormones talking... "We've got about an hour anyway." Itsuki followed Kaname to his room, practically bouncing the entire way. Upon entering, Itsuki flung himself onto Kaname's bed.

"What the—Itsuki, what the hell are you doing?!" Itsuki grinned up at Kaname from his place on the younger's bed.

"Sitting on your bed," he responded, bouncing slightly.

Kaname stared at him, wondering to himself if the older boy had taken some sort of drug before he came. "Itsuki... get off."

Itsuki pouted. "Why?"

"Because I'm afraid your highness is going to contaminate my bed. I have to sleep there every night, you know."

"Aw, but Kaname," he whined, "I haven't been to your house in _forever_! I miss your bed..."

Kaname blushed furiously: Itsuki. On his bed. Shit, he didn't want to think about that. "_Itsuki_," he said through gritted teeth, trying to suppress his blush, raging hormones, _and_ roaming imagination. "GET OFF."

Itsuki crossed his arms. "Fine," he replied curtly, removing himself from Kaname's bed. "But, you know, you're really adorable when you blush," he finished cheekily, ginning that infamous Itsuki grin.

"Now tell me _why_ I haven't killed you yet?" Kaname questioned, really wondering why he hung around with this idiot sometimes—perhaps it was Itsuki's slight naivety that made him all the more fuckable, and perhaps—NO. He was _not_ just thinking that. Shit. Perhaps coming to his room was _not_ the best idea...

Itsuki laughed. "Oh, coz you could never bring yourself to do it. That, and... well—" He stepped closer to Kaname, staring him directly in the eyes. It had been too long, he had almost forgotten how beautiful they were. He leaned in closer, when suddenly, Kaname blurted—

"Have you stopped smoking?"

Itsuki blinked, taken aback. "...What?"

Kaname furrowed his brows slightly. "Have you stopped smoking?" he repeated.

"Uhh... yeah... But thanks for totally ruining the moment, Kaname." He crossed his arms again and sunk backwards into Kaname's desk chair, staring at the floor, annoyed. Kaname stepped over to his best friend and lifted his chin, smirking. "...Kaname?"

The younger boy leaned down, pressing his lips to Itsuki's, who impulsively pulled Kaname by the waist onto his lap. Someone knocked on the door, but neither boy heard it, as they were both far too preoccupied with each other's tongues. Whoever knocked, though, decided (since there was no answer) it was safe to open the door—another action neither boy noticed.

A loud gasp, followed by suppressed laughter finally got their attention, and when they looked toward the door, they both blushed furiously at their rather _compromising_ position, and Kaname quickly jumped away from Itsuki while the older boy diverted his eyes to other things.

"Uhh... hi nee-san..." Kaname said nervously.

Kaori giggled. "Oh, I knew you wouldn't be able to help yourself!" she replied, but Kaname only opened his mouth resentfully, obviously wanting to say something but not being able to express it. "Hehe, should I leave you two alone or would you care to grace the rest of the guests with your presence?"

Although it crossed Kaname's mind to say, "Actually, I _would_ like to continue my make-out session with my ex-boyfriend, if you don't mind," he refrained. "We'll be right down," he replied instead, still a little embarrassed at his sister walking in on them—especially when things were about to get a lot hotter. Kaori grinned, nodding, and left with a wink to both boys.

Kaname sighed, running his fingers through his dark hair. "Well, uh... we should probably get down there before she decides to tell anyone..."

"Yeah... you're probably right," Itsuki agreed, though having half the mind to just shove Kaname onto the bed and take him back then and there. He restrained himself, though, much to the disappointment of the yaoi fangirls who are probably reading this right now—_and_ Amou, of course, who was currently downstairs being informed that he had missed his favorite yaoi pairing make-out without the incentive of the Almighty Power of the Mistletoe. The older boy stood and followed Kaname out the door.

**.: _Merry Christmas! _:.**

"Kusakabe-kun! Itsuki-kun! Finally decided to join us, I see. But I can't believe I missed you two making out... Such a perfect photo op gone to waste..." The delicate (but deadly) Eraser pouted; being denied live yaoi was a big deal—he had scrapbooks to make!

Kaname sighed, once again running his fingers through his hair—he tended to do that when he was nervous or irritated. "Nee-san... Of _all_ people, why Amou-kun?" Amou mocked hurt.

"Because I love making you blush, little brother," Kaori replied, grinning at the tinge of red on Kaname's cheeks. "And because he's our only guest tonight. Now then. Itsuki-_kun_, Haruna-chan, why don't you pass out the presents this year, hm?"

"Aww, twin elves! How cute!" Amou squealed, camera at the ready. "Hehe, and it's the two ukes as well!"

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?!" Itsuki replied indignantly. Haruna, Santa hat already donned on her head, told him to ignore the overjoyed yaoi fangirl and pulled her twin over to the merrily decorated tree, ramming a matching Santa hat onto his head.

"Naoya, don't make that face," Haruna told him, handing him an armful of presents just as Amou flashed a picture.

"Shut up."

**.: _Merry Christmas!_ :.**

"Ne, Amou-kun, why _isn't_ Nakaura-sensei here?" Haruna asked after all the presents had been passed out and opened. Everyone was sitting in a circle in front of the makeshift fire, checking out in more detail what they had received.

"Oh, he didn't feel well," Amou responded. "I tried staying with him, but he insisted I come. I think he has the flu, but he's so stubborn when it comes to him being sick, so I didn't want to argue. But—where's Isshin-senpai?"

"He got stuck on some vacation with his fiancée (his mother refused to accept his relationship with Itsuki ever existed)," Kaname informed everyone. "Either that, or he's just avoiding you." He glanced over at Itsuki with a somewhat mocking smirk.

"Yeah, well..." Itsuki retorted, "that just gives me freer reign to make-out with you under the mistletoe." And (conveniently), the tiny green plant hung right over their heads. Amou gasped slightly, and Kaname blushed as he realized Itsuki wasn't just making it up. Haruna and Kaori giggled.

"Itsuki-kun, that was supposed to be a surprise..." Amou whined. "You stole my role." He pouted cutely, but clutched his camera, awaiting a yaoiful photo op.

Itsuki smiled apologetically. "Ah, sorry Amou, but"—he turned to Kaname—"it's the Almighty Power of the Mistletoe, owning our asses once again."

"Itsuki, honestly," Kaname tried to reason with the older boy, "do we really have to do this again? Doesn't Amou-kun have enough blackmail—"

"Whoa, wait," Itsuki interrupted, frowning. "'Blackmail'?" he repeated. "Why would it be 'blackmail'?" Amou, Haruna, and Kaori exchanged glances. It crossed Haruna's mind that perhaps she needed to take Naoya to a doctor to be tested for being bipolar.

"Itsuki, what the hell? It was a joke—I was kidding."

"Oh... Sorry."

"Honestly, what's wrong with you?"

"I..." The three onlookers were intent. This was like a bad soap opera. And it was getting good. Oh the suspense! "I—I just want you back, dammit!"

_CHA-CHING_! Jackpot confession!

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Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Kaname was taken aback, though somehow he knew it had been coming—of course, that couldn't have had anything to do with Itsuki quitting smoking or the fact that they had made-out for some time without the influence of mistletoe. It was probably due to the fact that they were both horny and they both wanted each other back for some good buttsex—but perhaps that was just what the yaoi fangirls and Amou wanted him to think...

"Well jeez Kaname-chan, don't just sit there!" Kaori piped. "Kiss him!"

"KISS, KISS, KISS!" the other two chanted, only making Itsuki blush furiously.

"Well..." Kaname started, smirking. Itsuki did not think this would bode well. But perhaps it would, considering the last time Kaname had smirked like that, they were making out five seconds later. "If you want me back so bad, you'll have to—catch me!" He took off at his last two words, and Itsuki followed suit seconds after.

"COME BACK HERE!" he yelled after the younger boy.

"I told you to catch me, idiot!" Kaname ran into his room—figuring it would be the best place to go, since things would probably go a lot farther than just making out this time—only to be pounced on by a smirking Itsuki.

"Caught you."

The younger boy smirked back. "Guess so."

**.: _Merry Christmas!_ :.**

"So wait... are they coming back?" Haruna asked after Kaname and Itsuki had run off about ten minutes before.

"Uhh... guess not," Karoi responded. "But I'd rather not know what they're doing."

"I would..." Amou pouted. The two girls laughed.

"Yes well," Kaori said, "you're the overjoyed yaoi fangirl, Amou-kun. But I think you do have enough KanameItsuki yaoi to last you a lifetime."

"I guess so... But, actually, I probably ought to head home now. The party's basically over anyway... And Tomonori-san needs me right now whether he believes it or not." Amou packed up his presents and camera, and headed toward the door.

The two girls smiled. "Well, it was nice to see you again, Amou-kun," Haruna said. "Merry Christmas; I hope Nakaura-sensei feels better." She stood, as did Kaori, and they walked to the door together. Amou saw himself out, wishing the two of them a Merry Christmas and hoping he'd see them again on New Year's. They bid each other good night, and then the Eraser was gone.

Closing the door, Kaori noticed a tiny green plant above the doorway. "Hey look, I guess it's our turn, huh?" She grinned.

Haruna blushed as Kaori's lips met her own, warm arms holding her waist. She returned it but then pulled away.

"See?" Kaori grinned. "There's no need to be nervous anymore."

"Yeah, I guess not... But when are we going to tell them? About... us? It's still so awkward that Amou-kun knows."

Kaori laughed. "Yeah, well, Amou-kun knows everything. So don't worry. We'll tell them eventually. Obviously not now, though, since they're probably upstairs having hot getting-back-together sex."

Haruna blushed madly. "Kaori!" she scolded. "How could you say such a thing? They're still our _brothers_, you know!"

"Oh come on. I'm just saying it how it is. I've lived with Kaname all my life, don't think I don't know about that Demon Bael dude. He's what makes Kaname so horny all the time, especially recently. Itsuki's _reeeally_ had him turned on."

"KAORI! Stop being so obscene! It's embarrassing to think about..."

Kaori grinned, pulling Haruna over to the couch and into her lap. "Alright, alright. I'll stop. But when Itsuki's ass hurts in the morning—"

"Ahh, no! I don't want to think about it!"

Kaori laughed and pulled Haruna closer, kissing her on the cheek. "Merry Christmas, Haruna."

Haruna smiled at the gesture. "Merry Christmas, Kaori."

**.: _Merry Christmas!_ :.**

Kaname quietly slipped out of his bed to turn off the lights in his room. As he climbed back in, he laid down next to his lover—was that what they were now? I guess after having hot getting-back-together sex, one could say that...

Wrapping his arms around Itsuki's thin frame, he pulled the older boy closer, waking him slightly.

"Kaname?" Itsuki whispered.

"Merry Christmas, Itsuki," Kaname replied, kissing Itsuki on the cheek.

Itsuki grinned as much as he could half-awake and snuggled closer to Kaname. "Merry Christmas, Kaname."

**.: _Merry Christmas!_ :.**

**a/n** Alright, it's done! I hoped you enjoyed the innuendo and random crap I threw in this year. XD When I was editing, I actually put a lot more of it in there—there wasn't very much the first time. I took a little liberty with Kaori, considering we hardly know anything about her, so I hope you enjoyed her characterization as well. Now, it's not QUITE as long as last year's. XDD Haha. But I like it, I really do. I hope you do too. And even if you didn't, PLEASE REVIEW. That's all I ask. Of course, before I shut up completely, I must take a word count. This year it's—2508 words! Yay, I met my minimum. I think I'm done now. XD

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!**

**Oh, and I might write a special one-shot for anyone who notices what quote(s) I stole directly from the manga. XD**

And please come back for next year's installment!! WILL THE SOAP OPERA CONTINUE, OR WILL THERE BE TOO MANY COMMERCIALS?! Who knows. You'll find out next year. Maybe. XD


End file.
